Nine cools on Olympics

Nine Network managing director Jeff Browne has revealed the station is willing to lose its mantle as the country’s Olympics broadcaster unless the terms of the next rights deal are more financially viable.

Mr Browne said Nine would begin negotiations with the International Olympic Committee later this year for the rights to the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics and 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games.

Nine lost close to $20 million on its London coverage and Browne told The Australian Financial Review he did not want a repeat performance.

“We are prepared to lose it," he said. “It is not something we will do at any price."

In October 2007 Nine teamed with Foxtel to pay $US100 million for the rights to the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics and the 2012 London Games.

That deal gave Foxtel the multi-channel rights, leaving Nine to show the free-to-air component on its main channel.

It was criticised for its coverage from London, which switched between several events and mainly concentrated on showing Australian competitors.

Mr Browne said coverage for the next Games would need to be spread over “one, two, three or even four channels, and that could take the value out of it for Foxtel".